But as Bloomberg News analyst Cynthia Koons writes, while Mylan’s marketing strategy—based on a public awareness campaign about childhood allergies—led to a surge in demand, it also fueled a surge in pricing. Since 2007 (the year Mylan purchased the drug brand from Merck KGaA), Koons says, EpiPen wholesale prices have risen approximately 400 percent.

The price jump is hitting patients directly. The single-dose, wholesale cost was $57 during the late 2000s. Today, after insurance discounts, a twin-pack (the injectors are only sold in twin packs) has a $415 price tag:

“[W]hile EpiPen has given countless parents a sense of security that their children can go out in the world safely, the device’s soaring price—up 32 percent in the past year alone—has forced some families to make difficult choices in order to afford the life-saving medicine. The price increases are among the biggest of any top-selling brand drug, according to DRX, a unit of Connecture that tracks drug pricing.”